Business Etiquette

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Business Etiquette

• Adapted from M.E. Guffey
• Guide to Business Etiquette and Workplace Manners

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Part 2 of 3

• This presentation covers the following aspects of
  workplace etiquette
• Manager's Manners
• Business Meetings
• Business Gifts
• Business Cards
• Dealing With Angry Customers

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7 Manager's Manners

• Do
• Earn the respect of clients and workers
• Be polite to everyone.
• Keep an open door
• Be available to receive ideas, general comments,
  and complaints from employees.
• Listen carefully
• Don't try to complete other tasks while talking
  with an employee
• Be open to others' views and suggestions

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7 Manager's Manners

• Do
• Give compliments freely they cost you nothing
• Provide thorough instructions when assigning
  projects
• Encourage feedback
• Use a "how-could-we-do-it-better" approach in
  coaching employees

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7 Manager's Manners

• Dont
• Use fear or threats to manipulate employees
• Changed behavior is more effectively achieved
  through constructive, positive criticism than
  through threats
• Expect employees to be your good buddies
• Socialize at company events, but generally do not
  socialize after hours just for fun.
• Employees should not feel obligated to party with
  the boss.
• Relationships with employees work best if they
  are professional only.

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7 Manager's Manners

• Dont
• Deliver bad news publicly
• Find a setting that offers confidentiality
• Try to deliver bad news face-to-face rather than
  in writing or by telephoning
• Divulge confidential information given to you by
  employees

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8 Business Meetings

• Do
• Distribute an agenda at least two days in advance
• As a participant, read the agenda and be prepared
• Arrive on time
• It is rude and disrespectful to others to be late
• Contribute ideas and help the leader keep the
  meeting on target
• Clean up after yourself
• Dispose of any papers or trash you have generated

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8 Business Meetings

• Dont
• Allow your cell phone to ring in a meeting
• Never talk on a phone during a meeting.
• Slouch or lean on the table with our elbows.
• Look alert by maintaining proper posture.
• Perform personal grooming tasks such as applying
  lipstick, combing your hair, or clipping your
  fingernails.
• Read memos or e-mail while others are speaking
• Do not play with paperclips, bite pencils, or
  doodle.

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8 Business Meetings

• Dont
• Interrupt others who are speaking
• Signal the meeting leader that you wish to speak
  and wait your turn.
• Leave early without a good reason
• Tell others that you will be leaving at a
  specific time and apologize.

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9 Business Gifts

• Do
• Give gifts for work-related anniversaries,
  marriage or a new baby, or a thank-you for help
  with a project
• Check that the recipient's company allows gifts
• If individual gifts are prohibited, send a
  gourmet food basket or subscribe to a trade
  magazine for the office
• Include personal notes with all gifts
• Deliver gifts in person when possible
• Send a thank-you immediately
• Every gift deserves a handwritten response

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9 Business Gifts

• Dont
• Send generic, inappropriate, tasteless, or
  offensive gifts
• Learn about the recipients' religious or cultural
  preferences and the recipients' lifestyle
• Offer a business gift as a bribe!
• Generally give gifts to your boss, especially if
  the gifts are expensive or personal
• Give gifts of different value to people in the
  same office

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9 Business Gifts

• Dont
• Send a gift of flowers or food without making
  sure the recipient will be available to receive
  it
• Recycle business gifts
• Give someone a gift that is more expensive than a
  gift you might expect to receive from him or her

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10 Business Cards

• Do
• Have high-quality cards printed with a readable
  font
• When job hunting, prepare a card with your
  personal contact information
• If you represent a company, include your company
  identification and all your addresses and phone
  numbers
• Keep a supply of cards in your jacket pocket or
  in a special holder
• Ask for a card and give yours if you are
  reasonably sure you'll be dealing with a person
  again

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10 Business Cards

• Do
• Treat business cards as gifts
• When you receive a card, take a moment to study
  it and then perhaps remark on its distinctive
  design
• Show respect by visibly placing the card in your
  wallet, purse, datebook, or briefcase carefully
• At a social event offer your card privately to
  someone, but delay business talk until another day

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10 Business Cards

• Dont
• Stuff a proffered card into your pocket like a
  scrap of paper
• Write on a card in front of the giver. This is
  like defacing a gift
• Make notes about the function and about
  information requests once you have left an event

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11 Dealing With Angry Customers

• Do
• Let angry customers make their complaints without
  interrupting
• Try to detach yourself and focus on the core
  problem
• Defer judgment
• Listen for the customer's feelings, but also
  objectively assess the situation
• Be courteous and polite
• Don't take the angry customer's venting
  personally
• Turn to coworkers and superiors for support if
  needed

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11 Dealing With Angry Customers

• Do
• Pause when a customer finishes to be sure the
  customer's thought is complete
• Introduce yourself and say that you want to help
  solve the customer's problem
• Make affirming statements and invite additional
  comments
• If a customer doesnt calm down, take his or her
  telephone number and promise to call back at a
  specified time
• Decide how to resolve the problem
• Explain to the customer the steps you will take,
  not actions you can't take

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11 Dealing With Angry Customers

• Dont
• Be sidetracked by irrelevant issues, such as
  trying to refute exaggerations or errors
• Mentally criticize the customer's grammar, tone
  of voice, speaking style, or appearance
• Blame the customer or act superior if the problem
  turns out to be the customer's fault
• Promise more than you can deliver

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